Loading ...Kuwait's Zain Grp Eyes 10M Subscribers In Iraq By End 08-Exec |
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Monday, Feb 18, 2008
(This story was originally published on Sunday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Kuwaiti-based Zain GroupZain Group
plans to boost its subscriber base in war-torn Iraq by a third to 10 million by the end of the year, a top company executive said Sunday.
"We have 7.5 million subscribers active now. Hopefully we get to 10 million by year end," ZainZain's general manager, Ali Al Dahwi told Zawya Dow Jones.
ZainZain, earlier known as Mobile Telecommunications CoMobile Telecommunications Co., in December bought Iraqna Company for Mobile Phone ServicesIraqna Company for Mobile Phone Services Ltd. for $1.2 billion from Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding and subsequently merged it with its Iraqi unit, MTC-AtheerMTC-Atheer.
Now operating as Zain Al IraqZain Al Iraq, the company will focus on expanding its data services business this year and broadening its internet offerings, said Al Dahwi, who was in Dubai for a conference on defence, security and communications.
Zain Al IraqZain Al Iraq will also "invest heavily" in upgrading its mobile network by introducing enhanced data rates for GSM evolution, or EDGE, technology, which provides significantly faster data transfer rates, Al Dahwi added.
The operator hopes to complete the operational integration of the IraqnaIraqna and MTC-AtheerMTC-Atheer units by the end of the year, Al Dahwi said.
"We are still reviewing the integration process. It is a long process and we have to look at it from all standpoints. It's not a simple approach," he said.
A share offering in Zain GroupZain Group's Saudi Arabia unit will close Feb. 18. The carrier is selling shares worth 7 billion riyals ($1.87 billion) as it is preparing to launch the country's third mobile network.
Zain GroupZain Group in January said that its 2007 full-year net profit rose 11% to $1.13 billion from a year earlier. The group's overall customer base grew 56% to 42.4 million subscribers during the same period.
-By Oliver Klaus, Dow Jones Newswires, +9714 364 4962 Oliver.Klaus@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
18-02-08 0427GMT
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